MickD

There are not many knots that are as reliable and easy to tie as the double uni. I've not had trouble with any dia combinations with the double uni, nor have I felt its breaking strength was bad. The closest thing for ease of tying is most likely the Alberto, and there certainly is an easy way to screw it up. I use the Alberto and FG, but both are trickier than the double uni, so if I don't need a small knot, I go with old reliable. I think the problem with duplicating another's success with some of the knots is that the person who is successful doesn't realize or communicate the little tricks he's doing to make the knots reliable. Being successful with some knots is not simply following the sketch on the internet.

Fishing Lake Erie for smb will have you fishing tubes at times, and for tubes, more power is better for better hook sets. Since it's open water, light tackle will work in fighting the fish, but I would go with more power for better hooks sets, more versatility, and the ability to land the fish faster.

With the diameters you are going to use there is no reason to use any other line to leader knot than the double uni, clearly the most reliable line to leader knot. Will not be too big with your line/leader. The double uni is almost impossible to screw up.

I'll add one thing that might help. If one shortens a rod by cutting a couple inches off the butt to prevent snagging on clothing but does not move the reel seat AND uses one handed casting and fish fighting there will be no perceivable change in power or action. Everything from the hand to the tip is unchanged. The balance will be changed a little. However, as soon as that second hand gets onto the butt, it is a different rod based on the objective CCS numbers since CCS measures from the ends of the rod/blank. The difference may be so small that you don't feel it, but it's there. CCS may not be perfect, and it does not answer all questions (sensitivity for example), but it does accurately and objectively measure the power and action of the rod/blank using the descriptors (fast/slow/heavy/light/etc) that rod manufacturers, builders, and most users have agreed to. While a St Croix "heavy power" may be different than a Rainshadow "heavy power," when two rods have the same CCS power and action numbers they are very close to acting alike and feeling alike. (There still can be differences in material/construction/weight/guide train/etc that can affect the feel and performance).

I find 6 pound mono/FC to be too fragile so don't use anything less than 12. For neds, since it is a very subtle finesse technique (or often is, with very light bites or no-feel bites) I use braid for max sensitivity. Usually 15, which for my area with mostly open water, not dragging fish out of bushels of weeds, works fine. I know many go lower for longer casts, but 15 casts fine.

By "that same rod" you mean a rod of the same power but with a moderate action, right?

It was to me, and I'm told it was about the link that was not recognized.

I have no idea why this ended up pink.

If one defines action based on where the rod bends, faster if it only bends near the tip and slower if it bends farther into the blank, then when you take an existing rod/blank and shorten it from either end the action will become slower. BUT, This is based on the CCS measurement process which gives objective data on power and action, AND it measures the blank/rod from the very ends. Where the grip is is not part of the process and does not affect the numbers. So that's a little quirk in the system, and how that affects what your feeling I won't hazard a guess. ALSO, "fast action" does not mean a stiff tip. That is "power." A fact that most don't realize is that if you have two blanks of the same power, meaning they will deflect the same distance for the same load, the faster the action the softer/less stiff the tip will be. Think of it this way, if you have an extra extra extra fast action rod of quite high power it will flex mostly in the last few inches of the rod and will act like a broom stick with an ice rod on the end of it. It will still be very powerful but you will go through the tip very easily then come up hard on the broom stick section. Before everyone writing to tell me I'm full of bologna please take the time to try to understand the example above. AT THE SAME POWER, AS POWER IS TRADITIONALLY MEASURED, THE FASTER THE ACTION THE SOFTER THE TIP. IT HAS TO BE IN ORDER FOR THE RODS TO HAVE THE SAME POWER. If you want a rod that will snap a spinnerbait off weeds you need a rod of the right "power" (stiffness) to do that. Action is not the issue. Power is. Back to the broom stick. It is obviously very stiff, right? It is very high power. But what is its action? By the definitions commonly used its action is very very very slow. It does not bend only in the tip section; it bends over its whole length. Regarding your pulsing the figure eight for muskies, you are talking about power and not action. The mod fast action rod is actually a lower power rod than the fast that you are comparing it to. You are right in perceiving that it is not following as directly, but it's not because of its action; it's because it is a lower power rod than the faster action one. I hope this helps. If not, ask again and I'll have another go at it. You might want to check out the link below. The system was designed to evaluate fly rods, but it works for any rod. The interaction of power and action is very complex, and hard to understand, but it helps to keep strictly to the definitions of each. Many who discuss it do not and that causes confusion. For example, I saw on here the other day a writer state he had a "heavy action" rod. He surely meant heavy power, but using "action" when "power" is the right word is misleading and confusing. It's sort of like horsepower and torque. They are not the same and not interchangeable. https://www.common-cents.info/

I just have to ask. What is a "stress fracture?" I believe that any time stress exceeds strength there will be a fracture. but the question is, what kind of stress? And/or was the strength compromised by a previous crush or defect? Don't kill me, just trying to gain clarity. I would think that one would have to work pretty hard to get a blank to fail there, even if using a vice to hold the butt. Unless. . . thanks for sticking with it, I hope to learn.

From what I've read, including a quite complete article on rod failures, usually a rod when failing from a manufacturing defect will fail right away. During the first few times it's stressed. Was that the first time the rod was stressed in that way? From the article photos of failure causes, the closest photo to what your rod looks like is a crush-induced failure. I suppose it could have been crushed during manufacture. Very interesting. We may never know the cause. But a failure under relatively low stress at the strongest area of the rod is very unusual. Have you contacted Lew's yet? I expect they will provide a replacement.

Any possibility that the butt got crushed earlier in its life, like in a car door, or. . . ? I cannot think of a manufacturing defect that would allow a failure at this point in the rod. The stress caused by what you describe has to be pretty low and leads me to think that the rod was about ready to go when you caught this fish.

He's pulling the guide "out from under" the thread wraps but not all the way out so that the wraps cover the foot of the guide and a little of the blank. I believe it takes quite a few more wraps than 5 or 6, but maybe I'm misinterpreting what he is saying. This works best with very small guides that are hard to fasten to the blank to get started wrapping; I've never done it with bigger guides. You just start the wrapping on the guide foot itself, not the blank. Then pull the guide. It is quite tricky as it's easy to pull the guide all the way out.

Thanks for the feedback. It's nice to know when something works out as planned.

Any name brand 2 part epoxy designed as an adhesive, not a wrap epoxy. Your hardware has it. Do not skimp, use plenty, and have paper towels and denatured or 90% (or close) alcohol ready to clean up any epoxy that gets out onto surfaces on the outside, where you don't want it. You have to clean it up while the epoxy is uncured. Once it's cured, you're screwed. Easy peasy, and it will never fail again.

Anti reverse allows one to give line to a fish without back-reeling, which can with the right fish be a problem since it's hard to keep up with a really fast fish. Also, line can be given without getting knuckles busted by spinning handles. I almost always fish with it engaged, but it's nice to have the switch so it can be turned off to give a little line when I've reeled up too far between casts. Or turned off if I want to back-reel on occasion. I've never had a problem with "water getting in." Never had any problem with any one-way clutch on a reel. As long as I can find a good reel with the switch, I won't buy one without the switch.

Where did SNK go?

I think the current Stradics don't have an anti-reverse switch, which is a problem for me. I'll stick with switches as long as I can find a good reel with them. Bad trend, in my opinion.

You're in the Stradic range, so there is your answer.

while Stradics are fine reels, they are a little pricey, IMO, to answer this question. I'd say right now that the Pflueger Supreme for $105 is the answer. Or any Daiwa in the $100-150 range.

I still don't know for sure this is a casting rod. If spin, split would make it much easier since one doesn't really need any grip at the rear of the seat anyway. If cast, one still has to fit a rear grip on, even though it would be be much shorter.

https://www.mudhole.com/Composite-Cork-Butt-Caps https://www.mudhole.com/Straight-Cork-Rear-Grip-Two-Tenons-Super-Grade These parts should work fairly well. But reaming is still an issue. The grip has a tenon that matches the hole in the butt caps, if you choose the right combination of sizes. If your current rod has 10 inches from the butt to the seat, then go with the 9 inch grip. And add the butt cap. Which should get you very close to original dimensions. I think EVA will ream easier than cork, although I don't know how you could ream without the proper tools. A local machine shop might be able to help without an exorbitant fee. What is the outer diameter of the blank at the butt? It is probably about .5, which should allow these parts to work, so you will have some tenon left after reaming. We had a chewing dog one time and I used hot sauce on the stuff he was interested in to cure him. He was actually chewing on our deck at one time. Hot sauce did it.

Yes, reaming a 10 grip is not easy, even if you have the reamers designed for this work. See if you can find a builder in your area; he could do the whole repair or just the reaming. You'll need to establish the diameter you need. After setting up the tape arbors. One way to finish the end would be to add a knob after reaming and gluing the grip on. It could be larger than the grip, and could be sanded down to match the grip. If you do this, leave about 3/8 in of the blank sticking out to be a pilot for the butt knob. If you end up with an open ended grip which would then leave you with an ugly hole, you can finish it off with a rubber bumper like Mudhole sells or that are available at O Reilly Auto in the interior trim fastener display. I'll do some looking for parts that might work fairly well. This is a casting rod, right?

Cut the cork off, clean it up best you can so you have a solid base to work on. Now you have a tapered blank, fairly clean, at least no loose pieces. Now using masking tape wrap a few shims along the blank making the end of the blank and and 2 or 3 shims into a cylindrical surface. Ream a new cork grip to a slip fit on that cylindrical surface formed by the butt of the blank and the shims. Use a good quality adhesive epoxy, totally encapsulate the shims, and liberally apply epoxy all along the blank. Have paper towels and alcohol ready for clean-up of epoxy that gets out. If your new grip has a closed end it's difficult to ream it, so you may choose an open ended grip, then cover the end with a slipover type butt knob/sleeve, or finish it with cork. Not as easy as it sounds, but can be done. I would be tempted to fill in the damage to provide a good surface then add Winn grip tape. Probably cheaper and one heck of a lot easier.

Rage tails for largemouths, but tubes for smallies. Interestingly testing done by a bait company (Berkely I believe) indicated that the best imitation for crawfish was not lures with appendages, but simply tubes. My theory is that it is the action/movement, size, and color that trigger the fish a lot more than the details of sight/appearance. It could be that these requirements are better matched by the simple tube. I'm not saying that tubes don't work well with other species, just that they are better than the appendage lures for smallies. Tubes take pike, walleyes, drum, catfish, rock bass, LMB, and my fav, SMB.